New Delhi: Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Monday (December 26) stressed on the importance of preventing an infodemic and sharing only authentic and verified information on COVID-19, and urged doctors to educate the public on various aspects of the disease and its prevention and management. While it is important to be on the alert and follow COVID-19-appropriate behaviour including wearing of masks, it is equally important to prevent an infodemic and share only authentic and verified information on the disease, he said during a virtual interaction about 100 doctors and members of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) from across the country.
आज देशभर के करीब 100 public health experts और clinicians से कोविड-19 प्रबंधन के संदर्भ में बातचीत की।
Today, interacted with about 100 public health experts and clinicians from across the country regarding Covid-19 management. pic.twitter.com/WeB2SPnDW1
— Dr Mansukh Mandaviya (@mansukhmandviya) December 26, 2022
He said,
The Union Ministry of Health has been sharing information on various aspects of Covid prevention and management. I urge everyone to access and share only verified information and encourage others to also do so.
He urged the doctors to continue to spread authentic information about COVID- 19, according to a health ministry statement. He said,
You have been our ambassadors during the country’s fight against Covid. I value your contribution and salute the selfless dedication and service of the healthcare professionals. I urge you to be our partners and ambassadors to prevent an infodemic by educating the public on various aspects of the disease and its prevention and management aspects.
The minister expressed confidence that doctors would continue to work dedicatedly in this fight as they have been doing till now, the statement said.
Mr Mandaviya urged them to refrain from making speculations and only share accurate information with the public. He said,
Our citizens look up to our Covid warriors for advice and due to recent increase in COVID-19 cases globally, it becomes the responsibility of our experts to share correct information so that rumours, misconceptions and in turn, fears can be prevented.
He emphasized on mitigating even the slightest sense of panic in citizens by making them aware about current status of COVID-19 data, the vaccination programme and government efforts, the statement said.
He cautioned against complacency. He appealed for following the policy of ‘test-track-treat-vaccinate and adherence to Covid-appropriate behaviour’ and uptake of precaution doses for the vulnerable groups. “Only this way we will be able to preserve the gains made so far through continued collective efforts,” he stressed.
Doctors and experts who have remained at the forefront in the fight against COVID-19 since its occurrence appreciated timely meetings being chaired by the prime minister and the health minister and agreed to contribute in the collective fight against COVID-19, the statement said.
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(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via the Banega Swachh India initiative, which is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – the LGBTQ population, indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In wake of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fight malnutrition, mental wellbeing, self care, science and health, adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity, which is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diarrhoea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.
